When my signifiant other stands on the porch, vacuuming mosquitos with a hose attachment

...then I know this mosquito season is truly horrible.  J has gone mad.  He started his quest in a sitting position, spending a good 30 minutes on our front porch fiercely wielding a tube sucking up bugs.  Once satisfied, he stood up and held his position -vacuum off, tube laid across his chest- intermittently turning on the machine to slay any lingering specimen.  It is at once amusing and so King of the Hill-esque.  I'm trying to figure out whether J is channelling Hank or Dale.  Or Don Quixote perhaps?
That's Alaska and its mosquitos for you.

But hey, we made it through another winter.

winter solstice

Recently I even got a little Europe-fix with a one week trip to Sweden.  It was for work, but it was oh so good.  I enjoyed that Scandinavian feel that oozed from everything around me.  I got a kick out of the weights by my bed in the hotel for example with the workout DVD.  

Tourist by the Vindeln river

And ladies and gentleman, J is done battling the bugs..for now.  And I'm afraid the bugs won.

Postcard from Alaska

Dear Blog, 

Alaskan Autumn Sunset

I haven't seen you for so long!   Come to think of it, it has been way to long.  To put the lapse in time into perspective:

************

•  This Swiss Story has come to an end
• We returned to Alaska once again to continue our adventures and our blog from This Alaskan Backyard
• the 2012 Olympic Games came and went, 
• Lance Armstrong has been stripped from all his Tour de France titles
• the 2012 presidential campaign wrapped up 
• and the election concluded 

**************

Small Fish in Autumn

Hey blog, I have thought of you often.  We have so much to share once more.  We spent the whole summer in Anchorage, slowly adjusting to life up North.  We are back in Fairbanks now.  Big Moose and Small Moose are loving hockey.  Small Fish is crazy about sheep (random fact).  And Big Fish has become a thespian.

Switzerland was wonderful to us.  We are still buzzing from the millions of flashbacks from our travels.  Then again it is wonderful to be back home as well.  

As the year comes to an end. we are beginning to reflect on all these transitions.

Small Moose above the Tanana Valley, Alaska

Thank you Switzerland for all the good times.  

Thank you to our families for all the help and encouragement given.  

Thank you Alaska for accepting us back into your loving arms.  

We are grateful, and ready for 2013.  

Dear Blog, consider yourself resuscitated.

Big Moose and Small Moose in Arles, France

The Summer Plagues of Interior Alaska

The thing about summers in Alaska is that they can seem like an episode from the 10 plagues of Egypt.  Each year there is something to dampen our mood -perhaps we are a little hypersensitive to negative influences over our all-too-short warm season.  But really, nearly every year there has been an offending agent of all things destructive to summer fun:

1. Smoke from forest fires is a recurring theme but varying in intensity year-to-year (not just a little haze my friends either, summer 2004 I could not see my neighbor's house across the street and had to keep the children indoors amidst a daily shower of ash....the entire summer).

2. Then there was the summer of yellow jacket-swarms, during which time each and every member of my family got stung at least twice....there was no walking on the lawn barefoot, no playing outside for most of the summer because we were pelted with "bees" and the fly swatter was our constant companion on walks we took.

3. There was a summer when we were invaded by hordes of long horned beetles in June and July (which is pretty much the entire summer), and these suckers were landing in and on everything with their scary mandibles.  They can bite.

Source: http://naturejournaler.wordpress.com/

4. Rain.  I think it was summer 2009 (perhaps 2008) that we spent either in showers, or overcast nearly every day.

You see there is a theme developing here, and sadly, the verdict is in. 

Summer 2011:  Summer of Mosquitoes.    

I am conditioned to Alaska's mosquito problem.  Alaskan mosquitoes are legendary, and the subject of silly souvenirs such as pocket mosquito traps, t-shirts, mugs and all.  Yet after all these years, I have never seen them this bad in town.  We have exhausted all items in our anti-bloodsucking insect arsenal, and wear repellent for perfume.  Small Fish has close to two dozen bites.  Our mosquito screens on windows and doors sport dozens of blood-thirsty insects just waiting to get in.  As soon as we step out, we are attacked.  They are everywhere inside the house despite our best efforts.

My fantasy is that one summer they all happen at once and cancel each other out: The smoke kills the mosquitoes, the yellow jackets kill the beetles, the rain puts out the smoke, and drowns the beetles (wait: I just killed the beetles twice...oh, well)  Perfect.

On the bright side, at least it's not the summer of boils and lice. 

Summer Kick-off 2011

The birch trees are gracefully turning vivid green with new leaves:

The sun is still out at 11 pm:

 

We are once again able to marvel at the beauty of our valley without the need for heavy protective gear:

Tomorrow we are heading South to Homer on the Kenai Peninsula for a one-week RV road trip.  

View Larger Map

I am busy cleaning and packing, and feeling a little bit behind.  Small Moose's name day yesterday, and the cake he requested for the occasion set me back many hours -seriously.  This gelatin-laden, 5 layer cake took me 5 hours to achieve, during which time I swore silently that I would never, ever let my kids choose some random cake off the cover of a cook book.  But then, once done, I was ready to do it all over again when I saw the smile on Small Moose's face:

 

 

 So we're off on our trip, ready to see Awesome Alaska (Big Moose is thrilled that we will be driving past 4 volcanoes: Mt. Spurr, Mt. Redoubt, Mt. Iliamna, and Mt. St. Augustine).  We'll be back with lots of pictures.  Until then: Happy Summer to you all!

The flu

Photographer: Sebastian Kaulitzki | Agency: Dreamstime.com

We are sick with the flu.  Well, most of us are to include myself, Little Fish, Little Moose and Big Moose.  I haven't been sick for years, but oh boy do I feel awful right now.  This bug is giving me a smorgasbord of body aches, fever, chills, headache, achy lungs, cough and perhaps the most annoying: a stiff neck.  I can't sleep at night.  The children are in the same boat and I am having a hard time being the caretaker, nurse they need me to be.  In other words: we are in survival mode and the kitchen remodel came to a grinding halt.

On a lighter and much more fun note: stay tuned for my Alaskana gift giving to come shortly ( I am aiming for this weekend for a start date) where you can sign up to win cool Alaskan souvenirs :)

The Subtleties of Living in Alaska

Eight signs that you live in Alaska (probably not mentioned in your travel guide):

1. You realize that virtually every home you visit has multiple thermometers, placed strategically outdoors so they are visible from most rooms in the house.

Part II of this observation: talk of the weather is a real topic of interest, as opposed to empty space / awkward silence filler.

2. You find yourself in a heated debate about the current temp when you drive around during the winter months, and get a dozen different readings from the many digital clock-thermometer signs businesses put up outdoors. And by the way, over time you get to know all of them, and know which ones are most accurate.

3. You don't see your neighbors at all for 9 months of the year, but when they emerge for summer, they spend the entire season weatherizing the house for next winter.

4. Children -even preschoolers- are marched outside for fresh air or recess up to -20F (approx.-30C) daily.

5. You find yourself hoarding winter gear for every member of the family. Over time, you accumulate enough boots, coats, face masks, hats, scarves, mittens, snowsuits and pants to put an REI store to shame.

6. You call winter jackets "parkas."

7. Your new mantra: "Duct tape fixes everything." In fact, you may even own a parka so old, it is held together with duct tape in several spots, but you won't throw it away "just in case" (see point 5).

8. You find a moose tooth in your car during cleaning.

Chena River Run 2010

Here are some pictures of the 5 km 2010 Chena River Run. We participated with some dear friends of ours and had tons of fun....walking it. Given that we participated with a total of 9 children between the two families (ages ranging from 1 to 13), running was out of the question. Well that, and maybe a little due to the fact that I walked with coffee in hand, unwilling to spill even one precious drop. So there was lots of walking, maybe a pee-in-the-woods break or two, and I think we came in absolute last. We had a two-seater stroller that came in handy, but there were many combinations of kids sitting in strollers, kids getting out, kids walking, kids getting in, kids getting pigyback rides throughout....it took 1 hour and 5 minutes for us all to finish. The volunteers at the finish line were just starting to pack things up, and indeed commented on how "We usually only wait 1 hour, you're lucky we're still here." We stood out from the crowd of spandex-clad, mp3-in ears, stretching-warming up, and turning around at the finish line to run back to the start, die-hard runners for sure. Maybe someday we'll be one of them.

Here are J and Small Fish in the Finish line,
Big Moose is on the far right.





















And here is Small Moose and his very serious runner's face, with his best friend behind him.